PM: I'M BACK, BY POPULAR DEMAND! Well, this story at least. School is in session, so that's one reason for my updating cessation. Of course, I did stop during summer… Don't hurt me! I BRUISE EASILY!
Alright, with the fact I'm reviving this story, I will be revising several things, listed below.
One: Like my other, more current stories, this will now be in third-person form instead of first. Switching between first and third person can get kinda annoying. Once you use "I" instead of he or she, you do the reverse…
Two: The chapters will be shorter. The amount of stuff in a single "arc" of the fic won't shorten, though; it will just be split up.
Three: Instead of what are sometimes called single quotes, thoughts will be in italics.
And finally, four: The chapter name and number were normally centered and normal. Now it will be bolded and italicized, as well as going from left-to-right, like my Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fic. The same with the battle info and such.
Alright, enough gabbing.
Chapter Fifteen: The Cipher Key Lair, Pt. 1!
It wasn't long before Team Pat got word of more Cipher activity; in fact, it was the next day. They had returned to Gateon Port for the time being, and Pat had gotten an email from Michael.
Pat,
Something has been up in the Orre desert. The Cipher Key Lair was out there a couple of years ago as a Shadow Pokemon Factory. Some activity has been spotted. I'd go with you, but I have to take care of Jovi again…
Also, the parts shop in Gateon will give you the scooter equipment you need. On the house, since I know the guy.
Michael
"Alright. More Cipher activity is just perfect for me…" smirked Pat. "We took care of our Shadow Pokemon that we could purify yesterday… Time to alert my underlings."
He exited his room in the Pokemon Center and gathered up May, Justin, and Brendan, the first and third of which were merely loitering around the Port. Justin, however, had just started a battle.
His opponent was a teen girl about half an inch taller than him, with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a dark pink, long-sleeved crop top, black pants, black gloves, a black cap with two red lines on it and two tail-like strips of cloth which extended to her waist and flapped in the sea air, and black boots. To Pat and Justin, this person, her name being Keller, was similar to the "Chaser" trainer class from the Pokemon games of their own world.
Keller already had two Pokemon out: a Pidgeotto and a Lombre. Justin was still selecting his.
"Okay, let's go! Banshee and Darkshark!"
From two Poke Balls Justin tossed into the air, his nicknamed Banette and Sharpedo appeared.
"Ba-nette…" moaned Banshee in its creepy voice.
"SHAR-PEDO!" barked Darkshark.
Justin smirked. "It's go time!"
Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.
Justin's Sharpedo, Darkshark, and Banette, Banshee vs. Keller's Pidgeotto and Lombre
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Darkshark, start with Focus Energy!"
Darkshark closed its eyes and focused its mind, increasing its critical hit rate.
"Banshee, Calm Mind!"
Banshee put its hands to its head, focusing its mind as well. This gave the Ghost-type a boost in Special Attack and Special Defense.
"Well, you start battles well." Keller smirked. "But I know how to finish them! Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack on Banette! Lombre, use Surf!"
Pidgeotto's wings began glowing white. It flew into the air, and dove for Banshee, while Lombre summoned a wave of water behind itself, and rode it towards both of Justin's Pokemon.
"Both of you, Double Team!"
Banshee and Darkshark formed illusionary copies of themselves, and spun around the battlefield. Surf made half of the copies disappear, and Wing Attack took out four. After this, the spinning stopped and the copies disappeared.
"Banshee, Shadow Ball!"
In its hands, Banshee formed a black-colored ball of energy, which began to grow. After it expanded a bit, Banshee released it at Lombre, hitting it backwards.
"Darkshark, use Crunch!"
Darkshark's teeth began glowing dark purple and black. With a quick dash for Pidgeotto, it bit down on the Normal/Flying Element, also making a green circle of light swirl down around it. This meant its Special Defense had fallen.
Darkshark ceased biting and returned to its side of the field.
"Hmm! You're not too bad at any stage of a fight!" Keller said. "But this isn't over yet, blonde! Lombre, use Fury Swipes and Pidgeotto, Fly!"
Lombre got up and ran at Darkshark and slashed it five times, each hit inflicting damage to both due to Darkshark's Rough Skin ability. Pidgeotto flew up into the air.
Hmm… Pokemon using Fly can only be hit by Thunder, and Banshee just knows Thunderbolt… thought Justin. …Or does it?
"Banshee, try Thunder!"
Banshee looked at Justin with a confused look.
"Oh, you don't know Thunder?"
Banshee shook its head.
"Phooey. Oh, well. Use Shadow Blitz on Lombre!"
The Ghost Element Pokemon began glowing in that oft-seen shadowy aura, and rammed its body into Lombre, inflicting a super effective hit.
"Shadow Blitz, huh?" Keller queried. "So I'm guessing Cipher's back in business."
Justin nodded. "How do you know about Cipher?"
The female opponent of Justin grinned. "Michael battled me a lot with Shadow Pokemon. Let me tell you, that guy's tough for a kid."
They turned their attention back to the battle.
"And now, Pidgeotto, Fly!"
The Flying/Normal-type Pokemon dove from its midair perch towards Banshee. However, Banshee managed to evade Pidgeotto, causing it to crash into the ground.
"Ooh…" groaned Justin. "Okay, maybe that was… Uh… Unnecessary. Umm… Banshee, attack Lombre again with Shadow Blitz! And Darkshark, attack Pidgeotto with Shadow Rush!"
Both of Justin's Pokemon began to glow with dark purple energy. While Banshee merely rammed into Lombre as if using Tackle, Darkshark charged forward and hit Pidgeotto from the ground and into the air, with an evil smirk on its face (Or, as much of a smirk as a Sharpedo can have, anyway.).
Pidgeotto and Lombre collapsed, KO'd from the two super effective attacks.
"Alright, yeah! We won!" cheered Justin.
"Aw… Well, I guess we'll have to train harder." sighed Keller.
Both trainers recalled their fainted Pokemon, and Keller gave Justin a few Pokemon Dollars, then left.
"Not a bad victory, Justin…" Pat said quietly. Justin had a shocked look.
"HE… HE JUST COMPLIMENTED ME!"
Pat smacked his forehead. "Knucklehead. Now, as I've told Brendan and May…"
He turned around to see if the aforementioned couple was behind him, only to see them kissing. "BRENDAN! MAY! WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?! Grr… Anyway, as I told them, I received an email from Michael. It seems the Cipher Key Lair is active again."
Pat sweat dropped. "And again, Michael can't come."
Justin snapped his fingers. "Ah, you know what? The Cipher Key Lair is in the Orre Desert. Our scooter things can't handle the sand."
"Ah, but that's where a friend of Michael's comes in." replied Team Pat's "leader".
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
45 Minutes Later…
Now the foursome was speeding across the vast Orre Desert, a place filled with sand, sand, maybe a plant or two, and… Well, more sand. Instead of motorized wheeled vehicles, they now had scooters that hovered above the ground, effectively making them hover-scooters.
And it wasn't long before their destination came into sight… On the horizon appeared what looked like a dark laboratory, with a long pathway leading to the door. It, however, was on solid rock instead of the arid desert, and had dark water around the pathway, including the huge circular front of the path.
"There it is!" cried out Justin. "The Key Lair, home of the Shadow Pokemon Factory…"
It took only ten minutes for them to reach it. The water was dark, the sides of the industrial building moldy and dark green.
"I should probably mention by now I don't have a very good relationship with mold." Pat muttered. The four had stepped off their scooters.
Guarding the thin pathway to the Key Lair entrance was a familiar face to Pat and Justin, from the Pokemon XD game: a barrel-chested man of maybe twenty, with towering blond hair and angry blue eyes. He wore a red t-shirt with a thunderbolt on the chest, which exposed a small part of his stomach, black shorts, and black boots. He had a very angry and disappointed expression.
Oh, great. Zook. I remember that bozo from XD! Mean, muscular, and none too bright, but armed with a Shadow Zangoose back then. Back then… Pat thought.
Zook had seen Team Pat, and angrily rumbled towards them. "Well, well, well, what do we got here?! A bunch of pipsqueaks, that's what!" he growled.
Pat smirked. "Well, hello, there, bub. Zook, I believe? Hmph, you held up Michael two years ago, correct?"
Zook frowned at Pat and gritted his teeth. "HOW DARE YOU BRING UP ONE OF THE GREAT ZOOK'S LOSSES TO MY FACE?!"
"Get over yourself, bub. The 'Great' Zook? Ha, you couldn't harm a fly!"
As if just to prove Pat wrong, a fly buzzed by Zook's head, and was instantly swatted ten yards away.
"You were saying…?!" growled the blonde.
"GRR! Okay, just buzz off, Zook, and let us through."
Now Zook was angry. He stomped his foot and growled again. "You think you can get past me?! JUST TRY!"
He pulled a Poke Ball from his a belt around his waist and tossed it out. "C'mon out, Tauros!"
From the Poke Ball appeared a Tauros, a Normal-type Pokemon with the appearance of a brown bull with a dark brown mane, silver horns and a silver dot on its forehead, three tails instead of one, and a dark brown snout. It let out a moo-ish roar.
"Hmm. Tauros…. Alright, let's go, Pikachu." Pat said, also throwing a Poke Ball into the air. From the white light materialized Pikachu.
"Pi-ka-chu!" cried out the Electric-type. Pikachu had been recently purified, so all harshness and cruelness was gone from its voice.
Before the battle could begin, Pat's Shadow Detector popped out of its socket.
"Tauros. Level 35. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Sky and Shadow Rush. SHADOW POKEMON!"
"Hmm! Sounds like another Zangoose…" Pat said to himself.
Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.
Pat's Pikachu vs. Zook's Tauros
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Pikachu, begin with Thunder Wave."
Pikachu's body flashed with yellow electricity, and sent a weak bolt at Tauros.
"HA! Tauros, dodge and go for Shadow Rush!"
Tauros leapt out of Thunder Wave's path, then began charging, literally like a bull, towards Pikachu with a shadowy aura.
"Pikachu, use Double Team!"
Just before impact, Pikachu split himself into multiple copies of himself, quickly and invisibly shuffling around the field in a circle. Tauros glanced at the copies in different directions, then shook its head in confusion.
"And now, Thunderbolt!"
The original Pikachu appeared behind Tauros, flashed golden, and shot a same-colored beam of lightning out from its body, the move connecting with the Normal Element immediately.
"Grr…!" Zook growled angrily.
"Alright, Pikachu. Quick Attack, go!" shouted Pat.
With light white trailing it, Pikachu dashed into Tauros, knocking it onto the ground.
"Tackle!"
The Electric-type rammed its body into Tauros again, keeping it on the ground.
"And now for the finish! Attack with your Thunderbolt again!"
Pikachu's body crackled with electricity, then it blasted another bolt of lightning at Tauros, hitting once more.
Pat now clutched a Great Ball glowing red in his Snag Machine hand. He threw it towards the Shadow Pokemon.
"Go, Snag Ball!"
Upon contact, the Ball opened up and sucked Tauros inside. It fell to the ground and began twitching back and forth. Eventually, it stopped, and Pat picked it up.
"Heh… Your Pokemon has been Snagged, Zook." He stylishly spun the Great Ball on his index finger.
"GAH!" fumed Zook. "You… You… Just like that brat Michael…! Next time we meet, I'll… ARGH!"
He ran away from the Key Lair, soon out of site.
"Heh-heh-heh." chuckled Pat. "Well, Tauros is mine. I could use a speedy, high-Attack Pokemon."
He recalled Pikachu, and Team Pat began walking up the long slanted path going up to the building. Upon further examination, the Key Lair was protected from outside disturbance by a clear triangle of some sort, starting at the front wall of the building entrance.
But before the four could enter, a Cipher Grunt ran out.
"What…? What is this?! Zook lost to some brats?! Let's see…"
He glanced, glaringly, at May, Brendan, Pat, and Justin in that order.
"…A rather attractive young girl, a bleach-haired snow cone head, a… Hair-obsessed freak, and… A… Blond."
Anger crosses popped on everyone's head, except for May, who blushed, although even she was angry.
"YOU DARE INSULT OUR HAIR?!" shouted Justin and Brendan, pointing to themselves, each other, and Pat.
"YOU DARE INSULT MY HAIR?!"
Justin pulled out a Poke Ball. "I'll handle this one, Pat… No one insults blonds…"
A dark purple glint seemed to shine across Justin's eyes, but went unnoticed, except by May.
What…? His eyes… Kinda like Pat's…
The Grunt also held a Poke Ball. "Alright, fine! Let's do things the fun way! I summon you, Kangaskhan!"
From the Poke Ball appeared a Kangaskhan, a Normal-type with a dinosaur-like body, a black skull helmet, cream-colored horns coming from the sides of its head, a brown body with a tail, cream-colored claws, and a cream-colored belly, which had a pouch on its stomach containing a baby Kangaskhan, only it had purple skin instead of brown.
"KHAN!" screamed the Pokemon.
"Heh. Let's go, Sharpleaf!"
From Justin's Poke Ball appeared his nicknamed Grovyle.
"VYLE!" screeched the Grass Element.
Before anything could be done, Justin's own Shadow Detector visor appeared.
"Kangaskhan. Level 35. Normal Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush, Shadow End, and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON!"
Justin smirked. "Well, time for my second snag with this baby…" he spoke quietly, looking at his Snag Machine.
Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.
Justin's Grovyle, Sharpleaf VS Cipher Peon Humah's Kangaskhan
BATTLE COMMENCE!
Justin pointed forward. "Alright! Sharpleaf, let's begin!"
Sharpleaf nodded back at him, readying for battle.
PM: Yes, I'm cutting it off there. Told you the chapters would be short! Well, okay, the next one will be longer, but anyway… R&R. No flames, no mention of the wait. Important things have inerrupted progress. Whaddya want from me, money?